Question

The number of codons that code different amino acids are:

Answer 1

Hint: Amino acids are chemical molecules containing side chains unique to each amino acid as well as amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Proteins are the sole sources that make up these substances called amino acids and both of these play the role of the most important components of life. Amino acids are the by-products of the digestion or breakdown of proteins. Amino acids are used by the human body to create proteins that aid in the digestion of meals.

Complete step-by-step solution:
Codons are units of genomic information made up of three nucleotides (trinucleotides) in DNA or RNA that code for a specific amino acid or indicate the end of protein synthesis.
 The cellular machinery, once more the ribosome, scans the genetic code and inserts the appropriate amino acid to match each of the triplet codes in the codon. There are 64 distinct codons, of which 3 serve as stop signals and 61 identify amino acids.
Hence, option C is the correct answer, i.e., 61 codons.
Note:
Three sequences, referred to as stop codons, UAG, UGA, and UAA, signal the release of the developing polypeptide from the ribosome but do not code for an amino acid. The start codon AUG, which is interpreted as methionine in the standard coding, can start translation along with other sequences like an initiation factor. Rarely, the standard code may additionally have the start codons GUG or UUG, which translate to methionine or formyl methionine even though they ordinarily stand in for valine and leucine, respectively.